Maroons ‘rebuild’ awaits as Gus urges Slater to continue

Phil Gould believes the Maroons could be facing a rebuild period for next year’s State of Origin series, but is backing Billy Slater to remain as coach.

Slater’s men went down in the Origin decider last week, despite entering the clash as overwhelming favourites on their home turf at Suncorp Stadium.

It marked the second-straight time Queensland had lost a decider in their own backyard, with the Michael Maguire-led Blues getting the job done in 2024.

There have been major question marks over whether Slater would remain in charge, especially after his “handshake deal” comments before game three.

Speaking on Wide World Of Sports’ Six Tackles With Gus for the first time since the decider, Gould was asked where Slater’s future lies and what Queensland need to do heading into 2027 and his response could raise some eyebrows.

“You could see the devastation from Billy Slater at losing that game, he knows how much it means to the Queensland people,” the former NSW coach said.

“I certainly hope he does it again … but Billy is at that point now where he’s had a couple of losses and he’s experienced winning too. He’s got a little bit of a rebuild to go there on that Queensland side, which I’d like to see him oversee.

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“I don’t think it’s one of the great Queensland sides, I’ve never felt that. I wasn’t gonna say that earlier in the series ... but I was really confident.”

In the team from game three, the Maroons only had two players - Cam Munster and Kurt Capewell - over the age of 30, compared to five from NSW.

Gould hinted at those two players not being in the Queensland side for much longer and believes Slater needs to shake up his edge forward stocks.

“He’s gonna have a new, young halves pairing going forward - Sam Walker and the young boy from the Cowboys [Tom Dearden] are gonna be the future,” he said.

“I think they need to look at their back-row, they need some more strike and work ethic there. I felt that the back-rowers for NSW were outstanding.

“I’m a great believer in back-rowers being a very important part of your team … Liam Martin and Hudson Young were outstanding in that game.”

Capewell has been a great servant for the Maroons over the past seven years, but turned 33 last weekend and could be usurped by the likes of Cowboys star Heilum Luki and Dolphins tearaway Kulikefu Finefueaiki next year.

David Fifita is also back playing good football for South Sydney, while try-scoring freak Jeremiah Nanai likely has a mortgage on a Maroons jumper long-term and Sharks enforcer Briton Nikora had some good moments in his debut series.

As for captain Munster, he should likely remain in the five-eighth role to begin next year’s series, but will face immense pressure from Walker and Dearden.

The 31-year-old has already cemented his legacy as one of Queensland’s all-time greats and has even hinted at passing the torch to his younger counterparts soon.